Hi friends and family!!! I have officially done it. I made it a whole month here...that is crazy! Not a ton to tell about this week but here is what I have for you. I know without a doubt that The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have learned to love this book with all of my heart. It is so, so true! It has been a pretty hard week for me but I have had the opportunity to get so, so close with my MTC President because of that. He is amazing! I had a blessing that was beautiful and I am doing so much better. We had the sickest (best) dinner this week. Ice cream sundaes for me!!! That is like a normal meal when I am at home, ha ha! I know a lot of you must be praying that I will learn to like the food because I finally have started eating. So I will be flying to Uruguay this Monday. Can you believe it??? I will be emailing from a whole new country, with a new companion, and no teachers. Pretty insane! Fun facts: Showers are always cold here and Columbian candy is the best stuff ever. I have worked on my patience a lot this week. My roomates stole my alarm clock while I was praying, ha ha, but I am so kind that I let them. I love you all! I want you to know that I know the church is true with my whole heart!
Love always,
Hermana Labrum
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Semana 4
Guys, I did it! I have officially started week 4. In four days I will have officially made it a month. That sounds pretty crazy when you start thinking it all through. 17 months left - wow!
Wednesday - Okay all of you need to google the yummiest thing. It is called arequipe. It is like a caramel thing that is delicious! Order it! Also Wednesday was fun because my friend from school got here - Derek Welch! It has been so fun to just see a familiar face. This has been a really hard week though. I have cried everyday because I miss my Latin's so much. But that's okay - I am happy, I just miss my little family.
Thursday - My new roomates are from Peru and are crazy. They get up at 4 am and they turn the lights on. You all know how much I need my sleep so I got that issue taken care of, ha ha!
Saturday - Saturday was amazing! Elder Rasband came and did a devotional at one of the churches in Columbia for the MTC, Bogata North, and Bogata South missions. It was amazing! He took the time to shake every single one of our hands (500 of us just so you know). The spirit was incredibly strong! I loved hearing him testify of President Monson and of his love for the Savior. It was so powerful! So pretty cool - I was asked to say the closing prayer...in Spanish!!! And guess what guys - I did it! The spirit was so strong. It was cool because Elder Rasband's security guard came and asked me how long I had been in the MTC and said my Spanish was pretty amazing. Pretty cool experience!
Sunday - I did my first 24 hour fast and it was such a cool experience. The spirit was really with me and I was so grateful I did it. We watched a movie about President Monson and I realized how great my love is for him.
Overall a really good week. Amazing spirit! I just miss my Latin's and my family. I know this gospel is true and I have never been so happy. I read a quote this week that I would like to share:
"What we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean. But if we didn't do it, the ocean would be one drop less than it is".
I love you all! Thank you for your prayers and support.
Love always,
Hermana Labrum
Wednesday - Okay all of you need to google the yummiest thing. It is called arequipe. It is like a caramel thing that is delicious! Order it! Also Wednesday was fun because my friend from school got here - Derek Welch! It has been so fun to just see a familiar face. This has been a really hard week though. I have cried everyday because I miss my Latin's so much. But that's okay - I am happy, I just miss my little family.
Thursday - My new roomates are from Peru and are crazy. They get up at 4 am and they turn the lights on. You all know how much I need my sleep so I got that issue taken care of, ha ha!
Saturday - Saturday was amazing! Elder Rasband came and did a devotional at one of the churches in Columbia for the MTC, Bogata North, and Bogata South missions. It was amazing! He took the time to shake every single one of our hands (500 of us just so you know). The spirit was incredibly strong! I loved hearing him testify of President Monson and of his love for the Savior. It was so powerful! So pretty cool - I was asked to say the closing prayer...in Spanish!!! And guess what guys - I did it! The spirit was so strong. It was cool because Elder Rasband's security guard came and asked me how long I had been in the MTC and said my Spanish was pretty amazing. Pretty cool experience!
Sunday - I did my first 24 hour fast and it was such a cool experience. The spirit was really with me and I was so grateful I did it. We watched a movie about President Monson and I realized how great my love is for him.
Overall a really good week. Amazing spirit! I just miss my Latin's and my family. I know this gospel is true and I have never been so happy. I read a quote this week that I would like to share:
"What we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean. But if we didn't do it, the ocean would be one drop less than it is".
I love you all! Thank you for your prayers and support.
Love always,
Hermana Labrum
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Semana 3
Hello my wonderful friends and family. This has been a week of high and lows, ha ha. I am so happy to be here but it has been hard.
Tuesday - Tuesday was of course temple day and then we drove home. Let me just tell you, drivers here are crazy. We just weave our way around everyone and I think we will die every time. We saw our first dead body on Tuesday. I know sad, right, but part of the Columbian experience.
Wednesday - This day started with service so we worked around the MTC and me, Hermana Handley, Hermana Peay, and Hermana Shaw cleaned the bathrooms. YEAH!!!! We had the first food I have actually liked. We got chicken cordon bleu. It was definetely a good day! We taught our investigator that night and he started to not believe in the church anymore so Hermana Shaw and I had to change our lesson plans and just go with it. We taught 100% with the Spirit which was absolutely amazing! Hermana Shaw had a hard night so she got a blessing and it made my heart so sad because it reminded me of when my dad would give me blessings. It was hard!
Thursday - I was taught a discussion on missionary work and found the most beautiful scripture - Matthew 28:19-20. I would encourage you all to read it. The food is pretty bad. I have definetly lost weight and I am all out of candy so who knows how I will survive now - ha ha!
Friday - The MTC is the biggest rollercoaster I have ever been on. There are days when I am at an ultimate high and then days when I am at an ultimate low. It is always up and down but I guess that is what makes this so fun - ha ha. I had a really hard time Friday. The language is just really tough so I had Elder Lockhart give me a blessing and it was his first one ever. I want to share one of the most beautiful lines from the blessing. He told me in the blessing that I was called to this exact MTC and mission for a reason and I needed to remember that when things get hard.
Saturday - THIS WAS PROSELYTING DAY! Let me just tell you how much fun Hermana Shaw and I had. We proseleyeted for a little under 2 hours and got 12 references (that is the most in our group by the way - ha ha). Here are a couple fun stories: One of our first guys spoke the fastest Spanish I have ever heard in my life. I had no idea what in the world he was saying and he went on for about 15 minutes but I really got to practice the principal of just loving someone. I looked into his eyes and I loved him even though I couldn't understand him. Another fun one was the man that pushed me and Hermana Shaw's heads together and just kept saying "que lindo but no church for me" ha ha! There was one scary one who wouldn't let go of our arms but don't worry, we escaped. They all call us "gringas". We had a devotional that night from Elder Hale and Elder Montolla of the Seventy. One thing I learned that was super cool was that I need to forget myself to be a successful missionary so that is exactly what I am trying to do.
Sunday - I got lucky again and didn't have to give a talk - yeah!!! I have a quote I want to share, "When trials come, we have the choice to use them as stepping stones or stumbling blocks - we get to choose." I love this! Choose to look at life on the bright side. This night was a meltdown because all of the Latin's and Nortes will be leaving Monday and I can't stop crying. But I fell asleep in Hermana Romeros bed and she has literally become my mom away from home.
Monday - SURPRISE, I CUT OFF ALL OF MY HAIR. IT IS LITERALLY A BOB! This night we said our goodbyes to everyone which was awful. I bawled and bawled my eyes out!
Today (Tuesday) - Nothing but tears! These goodbyes were almost harder than leaving family because I know I won't see these people again. They are truly family and I am so grateful for the opportunity to get to know them. They will always be a part of my life now. Today all of the new Latin's and Nortes come so that should be fun!
I am so happy! The church is so true - I feel it every single day. The gift of tongues is real and the Lord is truly on our side.
I love you -
Hermana Labrum
Tuesday - Tuesday was of course temple day and then we drove home. Let me just tell you, drivers here are crazy. We just weave our way around everyone and I think we will die every time. We saw our first dead body on Tuesday. I know sad, right, but part of the Columbian experience.
Wednesday - This day started with service so we worked around the MTC and me, Hermana Handley, Hermana Peay, and Hermana Shaw cleaned the bathrooms. YEAH!!!! We had the first food I have actually liked. We got chicken cordon bleu. It was definetely a good day! We taught our investigator that night and he started to not believe in the church anymore so Hermana Shaw and I had to change our lesson plans and just go with it. We taught 100% with the Spirit which was absolutely amazing! Hermana Shaw had a hard night so she got a blessing and it made my heart so sad because it reminded me of when my dad would give me blessings. It was hard!
Thursday - I was taught a discussion on missionary work and found the most beautiful scripture - Matthew 28:19-20. I would encourage you all to read it. The food is pretty bad. I have definetly lost weight and I am all out of candy so who knows how I will survive now - ha ha!
Friday - The MTC is the biggest rollercoaster I have ever been on. There are days when I am at an ultimate high and then days when I am at an ultimate low. It is always up and down but I guess that is what makes this so fun - ha ha. I had a really hard time Friday. The language is just really tough so I had Elder Lockhart give me a blessing and it was his first one ever. I want to share one of the most beautiful lines from the blessing. He told me in the blessing that I was called to this exact MTC and mission for a reason and I needed to remember that when things get hard.
Saturday - THIS WAS PROSELYTING DAY! Let me just tell you how much fun Hermana Shaw and I had. We proseleyeted for a little under 2 hours and got 12 references (that is the most in our group by the way - ha ha). Here are a couple fun stories: One of our first guys spoke the fastest Spanish I have ever heard in my life. I had no idea what in the world he was saying and he went on for about 15 minutes but I really got to practice the principal of just loving someone. I looked into his eyes and I loved him even though I couldn't understand him. Another fun one was the man that pushed me and Hermana Shaw's heads together and just kept saying "que lindo but no church for me" ha ha! There was one scary one who wouldn't let go of our arms but don't worry, we escaped. They all call us "gringas". We had a devotional that night from Elder Hale and Elder Montolla of the Seventy. One thing I learned that was super cool was that I need to forget myself to be a successful missionary so that is exactly what I am trying to do.
Sunday - I got lucky again and didn't have to give a talk - yeah!!! I have a quote I want to share, "When trials come, we have the choice to use them as stepping stones or stumbling blocks - we get to choose." I love this! Choose to look at life on the bright side. This night was a meltdown because all of the Latin's and Nortes will be leaving Monday and I can't stop crying. But I fell asleep in Hermana Romeros bed and she has literally become my mom away from home.
Monday - SURPRISE, I CUT OFF ALL OF MY HAIR. IT IS LITERALLY A BOB! This night we said our goodbyes to everyone which was awful. I bawled and bawled my eyes out!
Today (Tuesday) - Nothing but tears! These goodbyes were almost harder than leaving family because I know I won't see these people again. They are truly family and I am so grateful for the opportunity to get to know them. They will always be a part of my life now. Today all of the new Latin's and Nortes come so that should be fun!
I am so happy! The church is so true - I feel it every single day. The gift of tongues is real and the Lord is truly on our side.
I love you -
Hermana Labrum
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)